Enterprising migrant women are teaming up university students to bring home-cooked comfort foods to those far from home. It's a unique partnership that's enabling marketing students to use their skills to assist a Melbourne café that's helping women gain a foothold in the workforce.
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TVTranscript
00:00 Luisa Vitale arrived from Samoa nearly 30 years ago with little English.
00:07 There you go, enjoy.
00:09 After years of caring for her family, she wants a career.
00:14 For the past seven months, Luisa's been working at Meals with Impact,
00:18 a cafe employing migrant and refugee women,
00:21 helping them develop confidence and practical skills.
00:24 She's keen to open her own food business
00:27 and in doing so, help her country folk.
00:30 Coming from Samoa and, you know, have nothing,
00:35 no food or things like that,
00:37 so I want to open up that business to help them.
00:43 The cafe has a rotating menu,
00:46 reflecting the myriad of cultures the women,
00:49 often carers of large families, come from.
00:52 They know how to juggle several jobs.
00:54 They're amazing cooks.
00:56 The inspiration for Meals with Impact began during the COVID-19 pandemic
01:00 to serve culturally appropriate food
01:03 to migrant communities locked down in Melbourne's public housing blocks.
01:06 It's now grown into a network
01:08 and helped place 40 migrant women into local jobs.
01:12 The business is also being aided by students from RMIT
01:16 who helped research and develop a marketing plan.
01:19 Business student Linda has been creating social media reels for the cafe.
01:24 My background is from a migrant's family
01:27 and somehow I can a little bit relate to it.
01:32 What started out as a necessity
01:34 has attracted diners looking for something different.
01:37 The spices that they use is so nice.
01:40 Fueling careers, one plate at a time.
01:44 [music]
01:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]